There's nothing like a warmly lit, super-symmetrical setup -- especially if it has two Studio Displays. Photo: drewbiez@Reddit.com
When it comes to computer setups, social media loves symmetry. People often praise perfectly symmetrical setups and plenty of folks kind of freak out if anything’s even slightly askew, often supplying their own joking references to obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.
In today’s warmly lit and well-organized workstation, a high-spec MacBook Pro drives dual Studio Displays. And pairs of other items in the room contribute to the overall symmetry.
A Mac Studio, two Studio Displays and a whole lot of audio gear and guitars make up this music setup. The Audient iD44 audio interface on the stand in the center of the photograph got replaced with an Apollo X Twin Heritage audio interface. Photo: frankjunior@Reddit.com
“These go to 11,” says lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel about his specially modded guitar amplifiers in music mockumentary classic This Is Spinal Tap. And today’s featured computer setup probably rocks just about that hard, too.
The Mac Studio, dual Studio Displays and array of killer audio gear in the home-basement setup belong to a working New York City-area rocker. Check out details about his chest-thumping rig, below.
This wearable gadget is ideal for your stress and sleep. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
The stress of modern living can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule and thus your overall quality of life. Luckily, modern technology can help.
If you’d like to address your rest levels, and your resulting mental health, take a look at the Apollo wearable. It uses touch therapy and silent vibrations to help users calm down before bedtime, sleep better all night, and maintain focus during the daylight hours. And it’s on sale right now!
The Apollo wearable can lead to better sleep, focus, relaxation and overall wellbeing. Photo: Apollo Neuroscience
If you spend all day generating content or code on your Mac, you probably know what burnout feels like. Considering how much work is conducted around the clock through computers and the internet nowadays, it’s no wonder that a staggering 41% of the global workforce is considering quitting their jobs.
To avoid succumbing to a level of exhaustion that can push you willingly into unemployment, you need to secure a sustainable routine and a healthy strategy for unwinding after long stints in front of the screen. One fantastic, relatively new tool that can help is the Apollo wearable. This high-tech wristband uses touch therapy to promote relaxation, deeper sleep and better performance.
Apollo is the best client for reading Reddit on the go. Photo: Apollo/Joe White
Created by former Apple employee Christian Selig, Apollo for Reddit is hands-down the best Reddit reader out there. Forget the official Reddit client for iOS and iPadOS – Apollo is the app I return to day after day when it comes to exploring the fascinating world of Reddit.
In my view, the official Reddit app feels like a rehashed version of Reddit’s freewheeling website. Meanwhile, Apollo is a proper piece of mobile software — the real McCoy, if you will. It gives you a fantastically effective interface for digesting the mountain of news and topical info posted by Reddit’s millions of users.
Now don’t get me wrong. Apollo is by no means swish, flash and fancy. It’s instead the exact opposite – stripped-down and streamlined. But believe me: When it comes to browsing Reddit while on the move, this app gets the job done.
A 9-year old Mac Pro and an even older 30-inch Cinema Display. You don't see those every day. Photo: Travis Lohmann
Las Vegas-based pianist, composer and educator Travis Lohmann reached out to Cult of Mac recently with an intriguing setup that hearkens back to yesteryear but still gets the job done in the here and now. Or in the “hear and now,” if you like.
It’s not every day you see a 9-year-old Mac Pro and an even older 30-inch Cinema Display getting the job done in 2022, but it happens.
Before and after. The Apollo app brings immersive illumination to Portrait mode photos.
Photos: Indice
This post is presented by Indice, maker of the Apollo app.
The photos you take are only as good as the lighting. That’s true no matter whether you’re using a top-of-the-line DSLR or an iPhone. The difference is, with an iPhone, you can change the lighting after you’ve taken the picture. That’s thanks to Apollo, an iOS app that uses the iPhone’s depth data to totally reimagine the lighting conditions in your photos.
The iPhone XS' new bokeh tool is just the beginning. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The iPhone XS camera is pretty incredible. The device uses its two rear cameras, plus the A12 chip’s Neural Engine, to record such an accurate 3D map of the scene that you can adjust the background blur with a slider. But that depth map is useful for more than just blurring backgrounds. It can be used by other apps to:
Add realistic lights to a scene.
Choose any subject to be in focus, not just the one you picked when shooting.
Add custom background blurs.
Remove and replace backgrounds, like movie green-screen effects.
The iPhone XS is the gold standard for iOS cameras, but the XR manages some excellent tricks of its own. Despite having only one rear camera, the XR can still recognise people, and then use AI and the super-powerful A12 Neural Engine to separate out the person form the background. While this portrait matte isn’t as detailed as an iPhone XS depth map, it can in theory still be used to do many of the same tricks.
Today we’ll look at the best depth apps for the new iPhone XS, XR, and XS Max.